Which Usenet Newsgroup Provider? The Ultimate Usenet Comparison

Our Usenet comparison let's you compare all newsgroup providers at a glance.

With over 100+ newsgroup providers now on the market, the Usenet comparison table below can really help you to identify the best provider for you.

You can sort and filter all of the feature columns: click on the up/down arrows in each column heading to sort and use the boxes at the bottom of each column to filter. You can also show more or fewer Usenet provider (the default view is to show 10 entries but you can also select 25, 50, 100 or All). A glossary and explanation of the terms used in the column headings follows the table.

Don't forget to use the horizontal scroll​bar at the very bottom of the table to see the rest of the columns (it's a big table!).

Not seeing the table? - Give it a moment to load. If you still don't see it, please visit on your desktop computer or tablet. Unfortunately, our Usenet comparison table is so comprehensive that it can be too much data to display, especially for older mobile devices. Thanks!

Usenet Comparsion: Key to the Feature Column Headings

Here are what each of the columns mean as used above in the Usenet comparison table.

Rating

Our rating out of 5 stars of the Usenet provider​ in question. Scroll further right in the table to see links to our actual detailed review of the service.

Servers

Indicates whether the Usenet provider has news servers based in the US, Europe or both? Choosing a provider with news servers in your region means downloading speeds should be faster for you.

SSL

Does the Usenet provider use SSL connections? SSL connections are secure, encrypted connections established between your computer or device and the Usenet provider's servers. A positive answer (Yes) for the Usenet provider helps ensure that your ISP cannot eavesdrop on your Usenet activities. However, your ISP may still be able to detect in general that you use Usenet. To prevent even this level of detection, consider also using a reliable VPN service when using Usenet.

Logs

# Newsgroups

How many Usenet newsgroups does the provider offer? Generally speaking, the higher this number, the better. But you are wise to search the Usenet provider’s newsgroups to make sure they offer the ones you are looking for, especially the binaries newsgroups. Usenet providers with 100,000 newsgroups or more are highlighted.

Retention

How many days’ worth of retention does the Usenet provider keep binaries in newsgroups (alt.binaries and other newsgroups containing media files)? The higher this number, the better. Usenet providers with retention rates of over 2,500 days are highlighted.

%

What is the download completion rate as a percentage that can be achieved using the provider’s newsgroup servers, as claimed by the Usenet provider? The higher the number, the less chance of incomplete binaries. However, be wary of these claims and especially of claims of "100%". Read more about Usenet completion.

Price

The best price per month offered by the Usenet provider for an unlimited plan (or closest plan). This is almost always based on an annual subscription period. Please note that it is difficult to capture the price element in a single column as almost all Usenet providers offer a variety of plans, usually 3 or more but others with many more plans. For example, some Usenet providers will have cheaper plans than shown in this column but that will be for plans that impose limits or caps on the amount of data you can download. In order to most closely compare apples with apples, this column highlights the best price you can expect for an unlimited account with the Usenet provider. Any prices denominated in Euro have been converted to USD (the original Euro price may be indicated in the 'Comments' column).

Save

The discount represented by the price compared to the Usenet provider's typical month-to-month plan. ​Any additional details about the discount (for example, "applies only for the first 3 months") will be highlighted in the 'Comments' column.

Trial

Does the Usenet newsgroup service offer a free trial or money-back guarantee period? This might be expressed as a number of days and/or amount of data (GB) after which time the free trial or money-back guarantee period ends. This column cannot be sorted but can be filtered. Usenet providers with the most generous free trial or money-back guarantee periods are highlighted.

Bitcoin

Does the Usenet provider offer Bitcoin or other quasi-anonymous and private payment methods? Usenet providers universally accept credit card payments, and many accept PayPal payments, but some customers may want to use a Usenet provider that lets them pay (Yes) with more private payment methods.

Connections

What’s the maximum number of simultaneous NNTP connections (aka threads) allowed by the Usenet provider? Please note that this figure can vary depending on the Usenet provider’s package that you select. We don't apply any highlighting to the figures in this column, because more is not always necessarily better. To read more about simultaneous connections see the 'Top Tip' under Step 3 of How to Use Usenet.

Block

Does the Usenet provider offer newsgroup block accounts? If so (Yes), this means the newsgroup service has pay-per-download accounts offered in "blocks" measured in Gigabytes as well as (or sometimes instead of) monthly subscription plans. Read more about Usenet block accounts.

Go to Review

These links will take you to any comprehensive review for the Usenet provider we have done. ​

Comments

These are merely some extra snippets of information that may be of interest.

Usenet Comparison Wrap-Up

Phew! That's a lot of information to take in.

But you now have all the information you could ever want when it comes to choosing a Usenet provider. ​

Happy downloading!

Get your favorite content with a Usenet provider now!

A Usenet newsgroup provider is a safe and fast way to download the media files you want whether video, images, software or any other binaries you desire.